Republican primary for U.S. Senate among most intriguing of top contests

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What looks increasingly likely is that Boxer will be in for the re-election fight of her career.

Carli Fiorina, running for US Senate, speaks at a Women in Leadership dinner at the Doubletree Hotel in San Jose, Calif. on Thursday, April 15, 2010. (Nhat V. Meyer/Mercury News)

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Former Congressman Tom Campbell answers a question during a debate with former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina and State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore for the Republican U.S. Senate primary Thursday, May 6, 2010, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

State Assemblyman Chuck DeVore answers a questions during a debate with former Congressman Tom Campbell and former Hewlett Packard CEO Carly Fiorina for the Republican U.S. Senate primary Thursday, May 6, 2010, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Of all the contests for high-level offices on the June 8 ballot, the Republican primary for U.S. Senate may be the most intriguing.

The race features two accomplished and well-known figures from Silicon Valley, former congressman Tom Campbell and former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, and a conservative state assemblyman from Southern California, Chuck DeVore, running an uphill but spirited grass-roots campaign.

The winner of the campaign will face Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer in the November general election. Boxer, who faces token opposition in the primary, was first elected to the Senate in 1992 and is seeking her fourth term.

Campbell represented Silicon Valley in the House for 10 years and has run unsuccessfully for the Senate twice. After earning a law degree from Harvard and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Chicago, he has toggled between academia and politics throughout his career, earning tenure at Stanford Law School at age 34 and serving as dean of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. He also served in the state Senate and, for one year, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s finance director.

After spending last year running for governor, and being overwhelmed by two challengers spending tens of millions of dollars of their own money, Campbell abandoned that race in January and jumped into the Senate contest. The move appears to have been a shrewd one, as Campbell instantly assumed front-runner status in the Senate primary, and, boosted by high name recognition from past campaigns, has maintained that position in most polls since.

But the overriding question for his campaign is whether someone with his moderate profile — though a fiscal hawk in Congress, he has endorsed tax increases at times, and he favors abortion rights and same-sex marriage — can prevail in a GOP primary. His opponents and outside political groups are expected to step up attacks in the campaign’s final weeks criticizing Campbell as too far to the left.

“But up to this point, Campbell has demonstrated a staying power that a lot of people didn’t expect,” said San Jose State political science professor Larry Gerston.

After being fired from HP in 2005 and serving as a surrogate for John McCain’s presidential campaign in 2008, Fiorina is running for political office for the first time. Though mentioned as a potential political candidate while at HP, she rarely voted during her adult life and has spent the primary campaign fleshing out her political profile while attacking Campbell’s conservative credentials.

Fiorina has positioned herself as a solid conservative, calling for a range of tax cuts and less government spending. She opposes same-sex marriage (while supporting domestic partnership rights) and abortion rights, with exceptions for rape, incest and risk to the life of the mother.

Fiorina, a multimillionaire thanks in part to a $21 million severance package she received from HP, has loaned her campaign several million dollars but also is relying on outside contributions to fund her campaign.

With a strong following among the party base but low name recognition, DeVore is running a thrifty campaign, relying heavily on the Internet and shoe-leather campaigning to get his message out. A longtime GOP activist, he is selling himself as the tested conservative in the race.

All three have tried to rally Republican voters by portraying Boxer as an out-of-touch career politician. Political analysts say Boxer remains the favorite to win a fourth term — she is a fierce campaigner, and voter registration in California tilts heavily in the Democratic column.

But the poor economy combined with Boxer’s liberal voting record add up to a potentially tight general election. Boxer’s campaign has acknowledged that her re-election bid this year is the toughest she’s ever faced.

Contact Mike Zapler at 202-662-8921.

Candidate bios: Senate

Barbara BoxerTitle: U.S. senatorAge: 69Party: DemocraticEarly life: Born into a middle-income family in Brooklyn, N.Y.; her
mother did not graduate from high school because of work duties and
her father, the son of Russian immigrants,worked during the day and studied at night to become
a lawyer; began to develop her feminist views in college (where she was one of the first women to
major in economics) after being harassed by a male professor; moved to California in 1965 with
her husband and college sweetheart, Stewart, and settled in Greenbrae, Marin CountyEducation: Bachelor’s in economics, Brooklyn CollegeCareer: Worked as a stockbroker in New York for three years after college before moving to
California; after spending several years raising her children, ran for the Marin board of supervisors
in 1972 and lost; she took a job as a reporter with the Pacific Sun,working there three years
before becoming an aide to then-Congressman John Burton (later a powerful state legislator and
now state Democratic Party chairman); in 1976, ran for the board of supervisors again and won;
served for six years before winning a seat in the House of Representatives; in 1992, dubbed the
“Year of the Woman” after several female candidates were elected to Congress,Boxer won a longshot
bid for the Senate, where she has now served three termsFamily: Husband, Stewart, an attorney; a son and a daughter and four grandchildren; spent most
of her career in Marin County, but moved to Rancho Mirage, near Palm Springs, in 2006Political philosophy: Ranked among the most liberal members of Congress

Tom CampbellTitle: Former congressman, law professorAge: 57Party: RepublicanEarly life: Born and raised in Chicago, one of eight children in a
Democratic family; father was a federal judge appointed by President
Franklin Roosevelt; attended Catholic school and excelled as a student, but was only allowed
to attend a college close enough that he could live at home; attended University of Chicago, a
bastion of free-market economics, where his political views took shapeEducation: B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. in economics, University of Chicago; law degree, Harvard; Ph.D.
adviser at University of Chicago was Milton Friedman, the renowned free-market economistCareer: Early in his career won a prestigious White House fellowship and later worked in the
Federal Trade Commission during the Reagan administration; in 1983,was offered a job as a
professor at Stanford Law School and became tenured four years later, at age 34; later served
five terms (nonconsecutively) in the House of Representatives, representing Silicon Valley; also
served as a state senator and as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s finance director for one year;
other positions include dean of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and visiting professor at
Chapman University School of Law; ran for U.S. Senate in 1992 and 2000, losing both timesFamily: Wife, Susanne, no children; they live in Irvine with their cat, PudPolitical philosophy: Believes in smaller, limited government; generally favors cutting federal
spending and lowering taxes, though he has been willing to break with party orthodoxy when he
feels the situation demands it; liberal on social issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage

Chuck DeVoreTitle: AssemblymanAge: 47Party: RepublicanEarly life: Born in Seattle; his parents – a steel salesman and a
receptionist and saleswoman – divorced when he was 3 years old;
moved to Mammoth Lakes, in the eastern Sierra in 1976 to live with his father, who had bought an
auto-parts store there; during high school worked in his father’s store and at his uncle’s gas station,
and cleaned ski condos; lettered in football and basketball; moved to Orange County in 1980 to live
with his mother and stepfather and attend Cal State Fullerton; transferred to Claremont McKenna
College on an ROTC scholarship; worked as a union carpenter to pay for collegeEducation: Bachelor’s in strategic studies from Claremont McKenna College; also studied abroad
at American University in CairoMilitary service: Lieutenant colonel, Army, Army National GuardCareer: From 1986 to 1988, worked as a special assistant for foreign affairs in the U.S. Defense
Department; later became a staffer for Republican Rep. Chris Cox; in 1991, joined SM&A, an
aerospace engineering and management firm in Newport Beach, and worked there for 14 years,
becoming a vice president of research; member of Irvine’s Community Services Commission
from 1991 to 1996; a longtime Republican activist, he was elected to the Assembly in 2004 and is
termed out at the end of this yearFamily: Married to Diane, two daughtersPolitical philosophy: Staunch conservative on fiscal and social issues

Carly FiorinaTitle: Former business executiveAge: 55Party: RepublicanEarly life: Born in Austin, Texas, the daughter of a conservative law
professor (and later a prominent federal judge) and an abstract
painter; one of three children in a middle-class family, she moved frequently during her youth for
her father’s teaching career, attending schools as far away as Ghana and LondonEducation: Bachelor’s in medieval history and philosophy, Stanford University; master’s in
business, University of Maryland; master of science in management, MIT’s Sloan SchoolCareer: Enrolled in lawschool at UCLA after college, but dropped out after one semester in a
decision she has called one of her life’s defining moments; cast about in various jobs before
becoming a receptionist at a Palo Alto real estate firm ; began working at AT&T in 1980 and rose to
increasingly prominent positions there and then at Lucent Technologies; shortly after being named
Fortune’s most powerful woman in business, she was hired as CEO of Hewlett-Packard in 1999; her
tenure was marked by controversy, and after a falling out with the board , she was fired in early 2005Family: Husband, Frank, a former executive at AT&T, her second marriage ; helped raise two
stepdaughters, one of whom died last year; owns a home in Los Altos Hills and a condominium at
the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, D.C.Political philosophy: Has taken conservative positions on most issues during the campaign; was
a surrogate for GOP presidential candidate John McCain in 2008; but as a first-time candidate
with no voting record, her political profile is a work in progress